Alive: n. Having life, vigour or spirit.

In Short:

SAW - Alive is borne out of the success of 2009's SAW - The Ride; a year round, live action horror maze situated on the old Thorpe Belle.

For SAW - The Ride, Thorpe's beyond-vertical drop 'coaster, click here!

Statistics:

Opened: 2010
Manufacturer: In-house
Area: Canada Creek
Ride Type: Live Action Horror Maze
On Ride Photo: Yes
Official Rating: Extreme Thrills

Photos:

The old Thorpe Belle, before the SAW - Alive retheme:

SAW - Alive:

Video:

See SAW - Alive in action: TTP Park Video can be found in Downloads.

TTP Review:

SAW - Alive opened in 2010 thanks to the runaway success of SAW - The Ride the previous year. It is a year-round live action horror maze housed on the old Thorpe Belle steamboat. Much like the Fright Nights mazes, guests have to form a conga line of between 6 and 10 people and walk through the attraction together. Actors lurk inside waiting to scare the living daylights out of you; they can touch you, but you can't touch them back!

So how does the maze fare? Firstly, credit must be given to the effort that has gone into the attraction in terms of theming. The outside of the boat looks fantastic (and very in-keeping with the theme of the rollercoaster), and the rooms inside are very detailed and authentic. Six areas feature in the walkthrough, with one trap from each of the first 6 SAW films depicted in each area. The attention to detail is admirable; the toilet scene smells like a toilet, the blood splats all over the attraction look realistic, and the freezer room really is quite chilly! The make up on the actors is also highly believable. Thought has gone into some innovative ways of scaring guests; visitors are subjected to a shaking floor at one point, and have to walk through an "electric corridor" (which is not actually electrified, due to H&S rules...). Even the pre-show is nicely done; a militant SWAT team worker abandons guests whilst they watch a recorded video message from Billy alone.

Where this attraction falls down is that it bills itself as a "horror maze", but aside from the visually grotesque scenes contained within, it's really not particularly horrifying. Comparisons must inevitably be drawn with Thorpe's Fright Nights mazes, and against these, SAW undoubtedly has the best theming, but unfortunately offers the least scares. A few actors jump out at you and follow you around, but the maze just doesn't offer the same level of chaos as, say The Asylum, does. Considering that the Fright Nights mazes are temporary, and SAW - Alive is a permanent attraction, this is disappointing. It was also quite a short experience, taking only about 2 or 3 minutes to get through the whole attraction. Hopefully the maze will evolve over time and improve accordingly - it needs more actors, a more frantic soundtrack, and more of a focus on producing scares.

For more on the Fright Nights mazes, read TTP's reviews in the Events section.

Your Reviews:

"I am an Annual Pass holder so I managed to be one of the first to endure the maze, all I can say is... TERRIFYING! It really is scary, jumpy, and makes me scream like a little girl! Well done Thorpe Park."
Robert, Surrey, UK.

"I actually didn't know quite what to expect from this attraction, but as soon as we stepped in, I wanted to get out! The actors inside are scary, the freezer room was the scariest and I screamed out loud!"
Ben, Liverpool, UK.

"The second I walked in, I expected to see the SAW traps killing people - which I did - but I didn't expect people jumping out at you and grabbing you. It may only last for five minutes but it is worth going in."
Reece Callow, Essex, UK.

"Even though I am only 10, it did not scare me! It was fairly frightening in some rooms, but not too bad. So it's a pretty good maze"
Jaye, Hertfordshire, UK.

"SAW Alive isn't very good. It really doesn't live up to the title of "world's most horrifying live action maze."
Max Powell, Essex, UK.

"SAW Alive is soooo scary, you get well scared. At first I thought it was boring but then you see the pigs and stuff... it's so horrible urghh!!"
Claire, USA.

"Very short, got it over and done with quickly, but ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING! The themeing is awesome, but pigmen leaping out at you is enough to make you scream like a four year-old! The carousel wasn't very good however - the shotguns were in the wrong place. But still - TERRIFYING! "
Tommy Murray, Bracknell, UK.

"I thought I wouldn't be scared because I know they are just actors but I was screaming the whole way round and the rooms are exactly like the films."
Katie, London, UK.

"The Saw Alive maze was the most frightening experience of my life. It is never a good idea taking up the rear."
Woodmania, London, UK.